German steel production slid again in July – WV Stahl

Germany’s crude steel output continued to drop in July in a year-on-year comparison, marking the fifth consecutive month of declines, the national steel association WV Stahl said on Friday August 19.
German domestic crude steel production amounted to 2.97 million tonnes in July 2022, down by 2% from 3.02 million tonnes in June 2021, WV Stahl said.

Steel output from Germany’s basic-oxygen furnaces – mainly used in the production of flat steel – rose marginally by 0.40% year on year to 2.13 million tonnes in July 2022, WV Stahl said.

Crude steel production in Germany is unlikely to increase this year due to the high cost of production, notably the unprecedentedly high energy prices, weak demand and declining prices for finished steel products generally, Fastmarkets understands.

Fastmarkets’ daily calculation of its steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe averaged €851.17 ($854.52) per tonne in July 2022, sharply down from an average of €1,156.90 per tonne in July 2021.

Domestic coil prices have been declining across Europe since April 2022, due to pressure from chronic overstocking by buyers and weak demand from key end-user sectors, mainly automotive.

Meanwhile, Germany’s crude steel output from electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) decreased by 7.70% on an annual basis to 839,000 tonnes in July 2022, WV Stahl said. Steel produced via EAFs is mainly used in the production of long steel products.

Energy cost increases had a bigger impact on electric-arc furnace operators. Therefore, EAF-based mills were reluctant to cut prices despite slowing buying activity, stating that they would rather cut output than sell long steel products below costs.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe averaged €980 per tonne in July 2022, up from average of €903.13 per tonne in July 2021.

Published by: Julia Bolotova